Discrimination against Children Living with HIV

The Central CBSE Board of Secondary Education as part of its Adolescence Education Programme for the last few years has been addressing the adolescent needs and concerns. The Adolescence Education Programme helps to create adolescents as agents of change in society as young people are a resource to be nurtured, trained and developed into productive citizens and leaders of tomorrow. The CBSE firmly believes that children have the right to a safe and supportive environment, to accurate and age appropriate information, to guidance in skills building and empowerment, to positive role models and friendly health services and counseling. 

The objectives of the Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) are : 

  To develop value enhanced Life-Skills for coping and managing concerns of Adolescence through Co-Curricular Activities (CCA). 

  To provide accurate knowledge to students about process of growing up, HIV/AIDS and Substance-Abuse. 

  To develop healthy attitudes and responsible behaviour towards process of growing up, HIV/AIDS and Substance – Abuse. 

  To enable them to deal with gender stereotypes and prejudices. 

The CBSE so far has conducted Adolescence Education Programmes in 5500 independent unaided schools affiliated to the CBSE Board. 

There have been recent incidents reported in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and elsewhere in India which have put the spotlight on educational setting and prejudices people harbour against HIV positive persons, especially children. In these incidents, when school authorities or NGOs made an effort to assimilate HIV infected or affected children into regular schools, parents objected and even withdrew their children from the schools on the grounds that HIV positive children would infect their children. Such instances violate the Constitutional Rights of Children. Children infected with HIV should be treated as other children are and have an equal right to be admitted in all schools affiliated to the CBSE. 

Schools are advised to conduct parental advocacy workshops regarding issues of adolescence, to sensitize 

parents and create awareness regarding the need for empathy and sensitive handling of people living with HIV to ensure that HIV +ve people especially children are not stigmatized or victimized due to their infection. 

While counseling parents and other stakeholders, a talk may be included about stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV; and the need to avoid such behavior. Parents and other stakeholders should be counseled by trained professionals, doctors or psychologists to address the many myths and misconceptions about HIV +ve people. Care should be taken to protect the identity and confidentiality of students studying in their schools in case they or their parents suffer from HIV AIDS. 

Number of NGOs working on Child Rights have jointly compiled Citizens Report which is based on first person interaction with the concerned stakeholders at the state, district and village level. The Report analyses the perception of different stakeholders and response to the issue and comes up with certain recommendations. 

Children living with HIV/AIDS have as much a right to study in schools as other children and they should be treated with the same love and kindness as other students are. 

This may be ensured by all schools affiliated to CBSE in the larger context of Human Rights and Child Protection. In case of the need for more information on inclusion of HIV +ve children in schools, the NAZ 

 Foundation (India) Trust may be contacted at www.nazindia.org. 

All Heads of schools are advised to ensure equal rights to education to children living with HIV and also ensure that they are not discriminated against in the school on account of their condition.